Installing new shower in basement, no drain

Asked May 31, 2005, 09:55 AM
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4 Answers

We are going to put a corner shower stall in our basement bathroom which currently only has a sink and a toilet. There is no drain where we want to put the shower. Do we have to break up the concrete and put a drain in the floor and then run pipes over to the toilet or sink drain, or is there any way we can build up the shower 6 or 8 inches and then run the pipes along the floor to the drain? Thanks.

Yes you can, but it probably won't be legal. You can see how the drain comes out of the wall to hold the trap and go up to the drain of the sink. The horizontal pipe is called the dirty arm. You can run that 5 feet and the horizontal vent will still do it's job, however if you add another dirty arm that is considered wet venting and in most places it is prohibited unless the vent part of the pipe is oversized. Wet venting can create problems like siphoning that will leave traps dry and allow sewer gases into the house. The other problem with that is that the drain for a shower is to be 2 inches not 1-1/2 like a sink line can be. So it really matters what size the pipe is in the ground and to the roof. Ask your local authority if they would allow you to do what you want coming off the vertical line venting the toilet. They may have an answer for you but you will need to know the sizing of all of your pipes in question including where you want them to go and where they terminate.
Darrel

Yes you can, but it probably won't be legal. You can see how the drain comes out of the wall to hold the trap and go up to the drain of the sink. The horizontal pipe is called the dirty arm. You can run that 5 feet and the horizontal vent will still do it's job, however if you add another dirty arm that is considered wet venting and in most places it is prohibited unless the vent part of the pipe is oversized. Wet venting can create problems like siphoning that will leave traps dry and allow sewer gases into the house. The other problem with that is that the drain for a shower is to be 2 inches not 1-1/2 like a sink line can be. So it really matters what size the pipe is in the ground and to the roof. Ask your local authority if they would allow you to do what you want coming off of the vertical line venting the toilet. They may have an answer for you but you will need to know the sizing of all of your pipes in question including where you want them to go and where they terminate.
Darrel

... from a shower/tub should be 2 inches but why are they nearly always supplied with a 1 1/2" drain? Makes it a pain to find an adapter.

We are going to put a corner shower stall in our basement bathroom which currently only has a sink and a toilet. There is no drain where we want to put the shower. Do we have to break up the concrete and put a drain in the floor and then run pipes over to the toilet or sink drain, or is there any way we can build up the shower 6 or 8 inches and then run the pipes along the floor to the drain? Thanks.

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